1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to communications devices, and more specifically, to techniques for detecting interference in communications receivers.
2. Background
In a communications system, a receiver receives a signal from a transmitter, typically in the presence of noise and interference, and attempts to recover the information sent by the transmitter. Examples of interference may include TX jammers arising from signal leakage from a transmit (TX) signal path co-located with the receiver, as well as jammers derived from other sources. Strong jammers may desensitize a receiver due to, e.g., the non-linear characteristics of the receiver which may mix the jammer signals into the desired signal.
To deal with strong jammers, a receiver may be designed to support both normal and high-linearity operating modes. In the high-linearity operating mode, the receiver may offer better linearity characteristics to minimize the distortion caused by the strong jammers, typically at the cost of greater power consumption. The receiver may be configured to switch from a normal operating mode to a high-linearity operating mode upon the detection of strong enough jammers. This feature demands the availability of jammer detectors that can reliably sense the presence of strong jammers in a received signal.
It would be desirable to provide jammer detectors that are low-cost, reliable, and easily configurable for operation in a plurality of frequency bands and/or according to a plurality of communications standards.